


Boundaries

by ryeloza



Category: Single Parents (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22108774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryeloza/pseuds/ryeloza
Summary: Angie and Will prepare to watch a new season of Joust together, but Tracy throws a wrench into their plans.
Relationships: Will Cooper/Angie D'Amato, Will Cooper/Tracy Freeze
Comments: 40
Kudos: 99





	1. Chapter 1

"Guess what?"

Angie glances at Will as he plops down in the seat next to her; he looks as excited as he always does, which could mean the "what" is anything from finding a new laundry detergent to announcing he won a trip to Hawaii. She's about to guess the former when she notices Tracy lurking behind Will. Without thinking, Angie sits up a little straighter and tries not to react when Tracy wraps an arm around Will's shoulders.

"Angie," he repeats, obviously oblivious, "guess what?"

"What?"

"Two months from today—wait for it— _Joust_ returns!"

Okay—that actually _is_ exciting. Enough to make her forget how uncomfortable she is around Tracy. Her eyes widen and she leans in a little, almost grabbing Will's arm before she manages to think better of that. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. May 8th. Mark your calendar. "You, me, and an extra large pizza." He grins, first at her and then with a fleeting glance at Tracy. "Joust! Joust! Joust! Joust!"

Angie joins in, despite her niggling awareness of Tracy's presence, because _come on_! It's _Joust_!

And whatever. She and Will were binge watching shows together long before Tracy came along. Nothing happened then and it certainly won't now.

There's nothing to feel guilty about, whatever Tracy thinks she knows.

"What is _Joust_?" interrupts Tracy.

"Pfsh—only the best fantasy show _ever_."

Will nods in agreement. "Yeah, hon, I can't believe you've never seen it! We should start the first season."

Angie feels her stomach swoop and makes a conscious effort to ignore it. She's not jealous. She's _not_. Especially not about a stupid TV show.

Tracy shrugs good-naturedly. "Sure," she agrees. "Let's watch it. Maybe I can get caught up before May 8th."

Angie forces a smile. "Yay," she says half-heartedly.

"Yay!" echoes Will.

* * *

So Angie is not jealous. In the slightest. At all.

Obviously.

But part of her is a little annoyed the following week when Will shows up at drop-off and ceremoniously announces that Tracy has already watched the first six episodes and is hooked.

Which, duh. Who wouldn't be?

But also, ugh—doesn't she have a million of her own things to share with Will? Why does she have to horn in on _Joust_?

Not because she's jealous or anything. Just because it's annoying. Like what if she's one of those people who asks a million questions while the show is on or makes you pause so she can take a phone call or something?

That is not _Joust_ etiquette.

She feels kind of weird bringing that up to Will, though, because what if he thinks she doesn't want Tracy there? I mean, obviously she doesn't, but she doesn't want _Will_ to know that.

So she just smiles and steers Will into rehashing their old debate about King Malodire and the fogs of Callomire until Poppy and Douglas can't take it anymore and force them to change the topic.

The next few weeks are more of the same—regular reports of how much Tracy is loving _Joust_ , Angie practicing her fake smile, and legitimate conversations about their love of the show. Will offers to host the premiere night and even offers to get turkey legs again, and in spite of herself, Angie is still pretty excited.

It is _Joust_ after all.

* * *

The night of the premiere, Angie stands outside of Will's house with Graham, holding a six-pack and promising herself she'll keep her cool, even if Tracy does something horrible like start talking about spoilers she read.

(Well, maybe not then. Even Angie has her limits.)

Graham looks up at her curiously, squeezing his lion to his chest. "Sooo, are we going inside?" he asks.

Right.

Angie knocks on the door. Waits. Waits. Waits. Looks down at Graham, unsure, and knocks again.

"They know we're coming, right?"

Angie shrugs. God, is it not the 8th? She's about to take out her phone and check when the door opens.

Sophie stands in front of them looking solemn. Well, to clarify, more solemn than usual.

"Hey, Soph," says Angie hesitantly.

"Hi." She looks from Graham to Angie like she's trying to puzzle them out, and then seems to come to a decision. She opens the door wider to let them in. "I'm glad you're here," she says, taking Angie's hand and pulling her into the house. She tugs her down to her level and whispers, "Tracy Freeze broke up with Dad."

"What?" says Angie, honestly astonished. "On _Joust_ night?"

So not the point, Ang.

Graham's eyes widen. "Oh no! Poor Big Dubs."

Sophie nods in agreement and leads them into the living room. Will's feet are sticking out of Sophie's tent set up in the corner. "Dad," she calls. "Angie and Graham are here."

There's a shuffling and then Will sits up, poking his head out of the tent flaps and blinking at the three of them. Graham doesn't hesitate; he just walks over and gives Will a bear hug. "I'm here for you, Big Dubs," he says.

Will pats his back and looks up, his eyes finding Angie's. She shrugs, feeling more than a little awkward to be intruding on this. "Yeah, Sophie told us the news, Will. I'm sorry."

Will forces a smile and pulls back from the hug. Graham gives him a slap on the shoulder. "Is there anything I can do?"

"I think I just gotta work through this one, buddy."

Graham nods sagely.

"Look, Will, I'm sorry," says Angie. "We can head home. Do this another night."

"No." Will gets to his feet. "I could use the distraction."

"You sure?"

"Honestly, Angie, I'm okay. It…" he trails off, staring at her, and then shrugs. "It's probably for the best."

"I never liked her anyway," declares Sophie imperiously, and it's enough to make Will laugh.

* * *

So the weird thing is, it's somehow _more_ awkward now that Tracy isn't here than it would have been with her here.

They eat dinner with the kids and then Graham and Sophie run off to play while they start the first episode. In theory, it's like any other night they've done this, except Angie is overtly aware of the absence of Tracy.

The fact is, even though they've never actually done this with Tracy in the room, it's been a year since they've done this without Tracy's presence looming over it. Angie really wasn't aware of how much of a boundary that had created with Will until now.

Not that they need a boundary.

They're just friends.

Kind of.

It's just that it was nice, in a very annoying sort of way, that when Will would casually squeeze her arm or smile at her or give her a hug, Angie could remind herself that he had a girlfriend so she wouldn't do something stupid.

Because hooking up with Will would be phenomenally stupid, for a lot of reasons. And Tracy being gone only takes away one of those reasons. There are still about a zillion others.

The good thing is that _Joust_ is still _Joust_ , which means it's about as perfect a distraction as you could ask for. Even Will, who is all heartbroken, is totally into it.

They take a break after the third episode to put the kids to bed. Graham offers Will his fourth comforting hug of the night, but it's Sophie who surprises Angie by calling her over before she and Will leave the room.

"Can I talk to you a sec?" she asks as Angie perches on the side of her bed. She glances at Will, who looks torn between amusement and confusion, but he leaves the room without comment.

"What's up, Soph?"

"Can I ask you something? About Tracy."

"Yeah," says Angie cautiously. God knows what she's going to ask Angie that she couldn't ask her dad. Knowing Sophie, it could be anything.

"Is it okay…" Sophie fiddles with the edge of her bedspread. "Is it okay if I'm not upset that she's gone?" She looks up at Angie guiltily. "I mean, I'm upset that my dad's upset. I don't want him to be sad. But I don't know if I'm upset for me."

"Of course that's okay, Soph. It's okay to be upset. It's okay not to be upset. And it's okay to talk to your dad about any of it. He'll understand."

"I'm not that sad either," says Graham, sitting up in his sleeping bag and resting his head against Angie's leg. "Remember that time we were having that screaming contest and she made us stop? Not cool, man."

Angie snorts and tousles Graham's hair. "You're gonna feel how you feel, Sophie. And it's not always going to be the same way everyone arounds you feel. And that's okay, as long as you're respectful of the way other people feel. And I've never met a kid who respected her dad as much as you do."

"He's pretty great. Tracy's a dummy."

"You got that right," says Graham.

"Alright," says Angie. "Bedtime for both of you."

She clicks on Graham's nightlight and slips out of the room, knowing they'll probably be up at least another hour. She finds Will back in the living room, already halfway through a beer. He follows her movements as she comes in and flops down next to him on the couch.

"Is Sophie okay?"

"She's fine. That kid loves you a lot."

Will smiles, but it's not the huge smile he usually gets when they're talking about Sophie, and Angie feels a pang for him. "Are you okay, Will?"

"Yeah." He turns his head to look at her, but his gaze seems unsteady, darting around her features as he takes another sip of his beer. Angie feels vaguely uncomfortable under the scrutiny. "Like I said, I think it was for the best."

"You guys were together for a year…I mean—"

"Ang, honestly, it's fine. Why don't we just watch another episode?"

Angie stares at him for a moment, debating pushing him to talk about it, but then shrugs and leans over to grab the remote from the coffee table. Part of her is dying to know what happened—whether it was something big, like Tracy confessing she might not be ready to be a mom, or something painful, like she cheated on Will, or…

Or something else.

Whatever it was, Will isn't taking it like she expected. Hiding in the tent aside, he's seemed fairly calm and collected this evening, and for once, she can't really tell what he's thinking. Will isn't really big on keeping his feelings bottled up. It's off-putting.

They sing along to the theme song as usual and then settle into their usual quiet absorption. Or at least, Will seems to. For the first time ever, Angie is having a bit of a hard time focusing. Honestly, the kids are right. Tracy is a dummy. Why would she break up with Will?

And how the hell does Will actually feel about it?

She keeps darting glances at him throughout the episode, but he seems oblivious to her. It isn't until nearly the end that he reaches over and takes her hand, squeezing it. "Angie," he says softly, totally breaking their no talking rule, "stop staring at me. I'm fine."

And okay, she would, but now he's given her a whole other reason to stare, because he's still _holding her hand_ and doesn't seem to have any intention of letting go.

Which is…fine. Fine. It's Will. Will is a touchy-feely guy. He gives her hand or her arm little squeezes all the time. It's just how he is.

Reluctantly, she forces her attention back to the television.

She's going to have to rewatch this entire episode. She couldn't tell you one thing that's happened.

By the time it ends, Angie is practically squirming on the couch. She has no idea what to think except that she needs to get a fucking grip on reality. Will just broke up with his girlfriend. Their kids are best friends. He's _her_ best friend.

It's all too complicated to screw up.

The next episode starts, but Will pauses the show and stands, still lightly holding her hand. He looks down at her, as though nothing at all weird is happening ( _it's all in your head, D'Amato_ ). "Anything you require from the kitchen, m'lady?" he says jokingly— _joke, joke, it's all a joke_ , her heart seems to be pounding—and then he gently raises her hand and presses a kiss to her knuckles.

Fuck.

Okay. Whatever. It's just Will being Will, that's all. She knows her part in this play. She knows she's supposed to laugh and say something like, "Corn chips, m'lord," and let Will give a little bow and head off to the kitchen while she stays on the couch and downs the rest of her beer. But the words are stuck in her throat and she's doing that thing she does where she just _stares_ at him because she can't quite comprehend the reality of Will Cooper sometimes.

Of course, when she stares, he has a tendency to pick up on it and stare right back. This is also part of the play, but a part they usually only perform in a public setting where one of the kids or their friends or a teacher will inevitably interrupt and they'll smile and then pretend they weren't staring at each other like a couple of weirdos.

They aren't in public. And unless Graham or Sophie has the impeccable timing to wake up, come out here, and demand their attention in the next ten seconds, they aren't going to be interrupted.

Will doesn't have a girlfriend anymore.

Angie doesn't know what happens in this version of their play.

Everything unfolds like it's in slow motion.

Will's smile falters as he realizes Angie isn't playing along with his joke. His eyes get that intense, serious look they do sometimes—the one that reminds Angie that Will isn't just a total marshmallow; (the one that has inspired some pretty dirty dreams in the past, if she's being totally honest)—and he goes completely still.

Neither of them says anything.

Without thinking (because if she was thinking, she'd recognize that blaring warning going off that this is a Bad Idea), she tightens her grip on his hand and tugs him back down to the couch. He lands on top of her—well, on top of her feet, which are still curled up on the couch—but near enough to other, more important parts of her body, near enough that her shoulder brushes his chest when she shifts slightly, and oh god, oh god, oh god, _what_ is she _doing_? She inhales sharply, ready to finally make that joke that will get them both out of this and back to their safety zone, but before she can even get a word out, Will leans in and kisses her.

It's a hard kiss—forceful and full of conviction that both surprises her and confirms things she's been secretly imagining for awhile now. His free hand comes up to cup her cheek, thumb running against her cheekbone, and in that one movement, Angie forgets that she's not supposed to be doing this.

Because fucking hell, Will Cooper knows how to kiss.

And then she officially loses her mind.

She twists, somehow getting her feet out from where they're trapped under Will's leg, and pushes him back into the couch so she can get the leverage to straddle him. Will groans, this deep, raw sound that she feels shoot through her like a bolt of lightning, and he wraps an arm around her back, pulling her closer, pressing their bodies together. His other hand finds her leg, slowly running up her thigh and back to firmly grip her ass.

Angie's hands start to wander too, dancing down his chest until she can get under his shirt to touch his bare skin. His stomach muscles jump under her fingers, and the fact that he's ticklish is enough to make her giggle against his mouth.

"Shut up," murmurs Will, and that only makes her giggle harder.

They pull back just enough to give themselves room to breathe. Angie rests her forehead against his, her hands still splayed across his stomach. Will's hand is still on her ass, pressing her against him where she can already feel him starting to get hard. It should be a respite, a moment to gather her wits and remember why she and Will don't do this, but she's just overwhelmed by him—she's overwhelmed by how she feels with him.

"Angie."

And that—that reverent way he says her name—is enough.

She stands and takes his hand, and says, "Your presence is required in the bedroom, m'lord."

The way Will's eyes darken takes away any embarrassment about how nerdy that sounded.

Obediently, he stands and lets her lead him to his own room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The image of Will jokingly kissing Angie's hand popped into my head, and this spiraled from there. I'm planning at least one more chapter.
> 
> Comments are always most welcome if you have a few minutes to spare!


	2. Chapter 2

This is all wrong.

Well, not _all wrong_ , Will acknowledges as he falls back against his bedroom door and leans in to kiss Angie again. Not the part where kissing Angie feels like _holy crap, Angie D'Amato knows how to kiss_ and _why haven't we been doing this the whole time_ and _oh my god, oh my god, oh my god I never want to stop doing this_.

Not those parts.

But definitely the other parts. The stupid sensible parts like _I just broke up with my girlfriend_ and _our kids are right in the next room_ and _this is Angie D'Amato, my best friend, and I_ cannot _fuck this up_.

Those stupid sensible parts are really trying to horn in and ruin all of this for him. They don't really care about the way Angie's hand is gripping the back of his neck or the feeling of her breasts where they lightly press into his chest or the fact that Angie really seems to like when he slips his hands into the back pockets of her jeans to pull her tighter against him. Which is stupid because all of those things are amazing and definitely more than enough reason for the sensible parts of him to just get lost for a few hours.

Plus it's Angie. Angie and sense have never really gone together very well.

As if to prove that, Angie starts to navigate them to the bed. Her hands slip down to his lower back and start pulling him along, both of them stumbling a bit as they're still kissing, until finally Angie bumps into the foot of the bed and breaks away. She plops down on the bed and grins up at him expectantly, and Will wants nothing more than to kiss that grin off her face, push her back onto the bed, and slowly and thoroughly drive her as crazy as she drives him.

He thinks if he cared less about Angie, he could actually do it.

Unbidden, Tracy's words from earlier echo through his mind. "I think you love her," she'd said, somewhere between resigned and sad. "And you're too scared to admit it."

Fuck. This is all wrong.

"What?" says Angie hesitantly. She looks uncomfortable suddenly—embarrassed or annoyed or maybe a little of both—and she crosses her arms defensively. With a sigh, Will sits down next to her and places his hands firmly on his knees, willing them to stay put.

"Oh god," she says before he can even get a word out. "Oh god, oh god, oh god."

"Angie."

With a moan, Angie drops her head into her hands, very determinedly not looking at him. "We're not going to have sex. You changed your mind and realized this was a huge mistake."

"No." Maybe? "I just think…I mean, I don't want…" He takes a deep breath, wishing more than anything that he'd thought this through before impetuously kissing her. "Look, I really would like nothing more than to have sex with you right now."

"But?"

"But I also really don't want to fuck this up, and somehow I have a feeling that if we sleep together, you'll wake up in the morning full of regrets and attempt to sneak out of my house while I’m in the shower or something."

Angie turns, peering up at him through her fingers. "I hate how well you know me."

Will feels a tiny pang—some part of him was hoping she'd deny it, he realizes—but he thinks they both know there is no way tonight ends well.

Well, long-term.

Short-term, Will suspects, would be mind-blowing.

Angie sighs loudly and finally sits up again, not looking at him, but not hiding either. "I guess if I'm really honest, I don't want to be your rebound."

She wouldn't be, Will thinks, but that's the problem. Because he suspects getting Angie to believe that would be an almost insurmountable task if they slept together now. Calling this rebound sex would be easiest way for her to go back to shielding her heart like a fortress.

Then, slowly, what she actually said hits him like a ton of bricks. "Wait—what _do_ you want then?" he asks.

"What?—Nothing," says Angie, almost too quickly. "I just mean—I mean—we're not—we can't just be this casual thing."

"Because…?"

He can practically fill in the blanks himself. _Because of the kids. Because we see each other every day. Because it would make our lives way too complicated._

_Because I might be in love with you, and casual friend-sex would definitely fuck me up beyond all hope._

No—nevermind. That one's all him.

"Because we're not…casual." It's a perfectly vague response that probably encompasses (mostly) everything Will was just thinking. He's ready to let it go, because really, she doesn't need to say what he already knows. But to his surprise, she looks down again and adds a muttered, "I like you, you idiot."

His eyes go wide. "What?"

"Don't make me say it again."

"But—I mean—You mean—like me?"

"Ugh, look, can we not make a big deal about this? I know it's stupid and it doesn't make any sense—"

Will's mind is still reeling. She likes him? Like as more than a friend? Like as someone she'd want to have sex with in a non-rebound, non-desperate, non-stupid moment in time because of genuine feelings?

That kind of like?

"—I'm sure I'll get over it. I mean, everything was _fine_ until stupid Tracy opened her stupid mouth at Thanksgiving and basically accused me of being in love with you. I was living in a perfectly happy denial before that."

"Tracy said what?"

"Nothing. It's stupid."

"She said the same thing to me," blurts out Will before he stops to think about it. Angie looks at him sharply.

"What?"

"I mean—not about you liking me. She accused me of liking you. Tonight. When we broke up."

" _That's_ why she dumped you?"

Will shrugs. He suspects there was more to it than that. Like the fact that it's been a year and they still haven't really gotten to that point where it's easy and comfortable—especially when Sophie's around. Or the fact that neither of them seemed ready to take this any further than it had already gone.

And yes, the fact that watching _Joust_ together might have inspired him to be a little more free with his Angie stories also probably played a part.

Angie seems to take his silence as confirmation. "Well _do_ you?" she asks accusingly.

He turns his gaze toward her; even in the dark room, he can see how tense she is, and he has to tighten his grip on his knees to keep from reaching for her then. He swallows. "Yeah," he says. "I do."

Unexpectedly, she punches him in the arm. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Ow! I don't know! Why didn't you?"

"You had a girlfriend. I was trying to be respectful, dumbass."

"Well I don't have a girlfriend now."

Angie frowns. "Yeah. Which brings us back to the rebound thing. Tracy dumped _you_ , Will. Not the other way around."

"I know."

"I mean, would you have broken up with her otherwise?"

"I don't know, Ang. This thing with us…it's more complicated than that, you know?"

Angie nods, and then groans, flopping back on the bed so she's lying down. Her shirt rides up a little when she does so, and Will has to make a conscious effort to tear his eyes away from the patch of skin it reveals.

"You really know how to kill a mood, Cooper."

"It is what I'm best known for, yes."

Slowly, he lies down beside her, their shoulders bumping together, and he reaches out and rests his hand over hers. "The other complicated stuff isn't going to go away."

"No." Angie turns her hand over beneath his and laces their fingers together. He can feel her turn her head to look at him. "On the other hand, I really enjoyed all the kissing before."

He rolls his head to meet her gaze. At this angle, it's hard not to remember where this was headed before he and his common sense derailed it. "Me too."

"So maybe…"

"Maybe," he echoes softly, "we can figure it out."

Angie's eyes flicker from his eyes to his lips for a long beat before she meets his gaze again. He swallows, hard.

"Angie?"

"Hmm?"

"If I kiss you again, do you promise not sneak out of here later and make a bad attempt to avoid me for the next few days?"

"That depends."

"On?"

She grins wolfishly, and Will can almost guarantee that nothing she says is going to stop him from kissing her again. "How good the sex is."

It's more a joke than a promise. He knows, deep down, that come dawn, Angie could still get scared and run, but somehow he doesn't think that she will. The boundaries have come crumbling down around them, and Will doesn't think it will be easy to put them back up. Not now that he knows.

Now that she knows.

He turns to his side, lifting his free hand to cup her neck, and then leans in and kisses her.

This time, it just feels right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got a tiny bit more angsty than I intended, but Will just wasn't cooperating with keeping it all lighthearted. I hope you enjoyed! If you have a minute to leave a comment, it will be much loved and appreciated.


End file.
